A voluntary, community group from Co Galway has won a top heritage award at a ceremony in the Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow.
Moycullen Heritage, members of the National Museum of Ireland’s iCAN (Irish Community Archive Network ) project, were the overall winners in the ‘Most Impactful Involvement in a Heritage Project by Young People’ category at the prestigious Community Archives and Heritage Group Awards 2019.
The awards are organised annually by the Archives and Record Association (UK and Ireland ), which is the main professional body representing archivists, records managers and archive conservators in Britain and Ireland.
Moycullen Hertiage won their award for the tri-lingual publication Ruaidhrí’s Story – how Moycullen got its name. The book, in English, Irish and Polish, and illustrated by 5th and 6th class pupils, tells the mythological story of how Moycullen got its name, as referred to by the famous 17th century Moycullen historian, Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithartaigh. The book was produced with the support of Marie Mannion, County Galway Heritage Officer, and Galway County Council.
Moycullen Heritage engaged with the four Moycullen primary schools and members of the local Polish community to produce Ruaidhrí’s Story, which the award judges described as an impressive ‘stand-out achievement’.
“We were deeply impressed at such innovation and deliberate efforts to engage with wider communities and particularly in the way Moycullen Heritage engaged young people and schools, and the model it has created that others may use,” said the judges.
Hazel Morrison-Pagett, PRO of Moycullen Heritage, and Lorna Elms, iCAN Development Officer, National Museum of Ireland, travelled to Glasgow for the awards ceremony.
Ms Elms said she was thrilled to see Moycullen Heritage win the award, as it is an acknowledgement of the important work being carried out by volunteers at local level to raise awareness and appreciation of local heritage. It also demonstrated how the Irish Community Archive Network is successfully empowering communities to collect, preserve and share their history and heritage in creative and engaging ways.
“The iCAN initiative, delivered by the National Museum of Ireland in partnership with Galway County Council and funded by Creative Ireland, is currently working with 24 local heritage and history groups and aims to develop a national heritage network over the next five years,” said Ms Elms. “This award, recognised in Ireland and the U.K,. shows that the training and mentorship programme provided through iCAN is supporting communities to develop and share their work and achievements with a wider audience. We congratulate Moycullen Heritage on this impressive award and look forward to working with the group as they continue to showcase the unique history and heritage of Moycullen through the iCAN project.”
Ms Morrison-Pagett, who picked up the award in Glasgow, on behalf of the group, said:”Táimid buailte ag ár mbua - we are so proud of our inclusive community, its people and its heritage. In producing Ruaidhrí’s Story, and with the support of the local school principals in putting the publication on their history curriculum, we ensure future generations in our village will have an understanding and appreciation of our local lore. This award goes to prove that small voluntary groups like ours, when given the correct guidance and platform, can produce projects that receive not only local but international recognition also.”
For more information on Ruaidhrí’s Story and Moycullen Heritage visit moycullen.galwaycommunityheritage.org
For further details on the Irish Community Archive Network, visit ouririshheritage.org or contact [email protected].
